SHSelfHostIndex

Home Assistant Operating System vs Home Assistant Supervisor

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted home automation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
HO Home Assistant Operating System Embedded operating system optimized for Home Assistant VS HO Home Assistant Supervisor Manages the Home Assistant add-on ecosystem
FeatureHome Assistant Operating SystemHome Assistant Supervisor
CategoryHome AutomationHome Automation
LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguagePythonPython
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM1,024 MB512 MB
Deploymentone-click, bare-metaldocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 7,390★ 2,200
First released20192017
ReplacesSmartThings, HubitatSmartThings

Why pick each one

Choose Home Assistant Operating System if…

  • Easiest full-featured HA install
  • Managed add-ons
Home Assistant Operating System details

Choose Home Assistant Supervisor if…

  • Enables one-click add-ons
  • Simplifies maintenance
Home Assistant Supervisor details

Frequently asked questions

Is Home Assistant Operating System or Home Assistant Supervisor better?

Home Assistant Operating System is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Home Assistant Supervisor if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Home Assistant Operating System and Home Assistant Supervisor free and open-source?

Yes. Home Assistant Operating System is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Home Assistant Supervisor under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Home Assistant Operating System and Home Assistant Supervisor with Docker?

Home Assistant Operating System: check the project docs for container support. Home Assistant Supervisor: yes.

Related comparisons